Day 220: Daniel 7-9

Daniel had some pretty vivid and nightmarish dreams. Even when he supplies the interpretation that God gives him they are still very difficult for me to understand. Compounding the problem for me is that his visions and dreams seem to skip around in time. Just when I think he's talking about the coming fall of Babylon and Israel's return to Jerusalem he skips way into the future and is clearly referring to the coming Jesus...

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. (7:13-14)

Then at other times he seems to go even further into the future with descriptions of things that sound like the actual end of time. In fact at one point Gabriel tells him:

“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.” (8:26)

It's no wonder that Daniel says:

I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding. (8:27)

Reading biblical prophecy is always hard for me. One thing that I've come to realize is that the specifics in predictive prophecy are never completely understood until after they come to pass. It's only then that you can look back and see how it all fits together. I think this may be intentional. The prophecy is given in such a way that you understand the big picture ("I've looked in the back of the book...and we win!") but the details are clouded in symbolism and imagery that only make sense afterward. This is why we should be very skeptical of anyone who claims to have it all figured out and proclaims with certainty that they know how and when something is going to take place based on their study of biblical prophecy.

On a completely different subject, perhaps my favorite verse in today's reading is this one. Daniel is praying on behalf of his people. He's confessing the sin of the nation and pleading with God for mercy. I believe this should be the attitude of heart whenever we pray:

We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. (9:18)